Monday, November 12, 2012

2nd Vladimir Petrov Memorial Rapid, Blitz Chess in Feb

The latest chess news via Fide is that the municipality of Jurmala and Latvian Chess Federation have announced the second “Vladimir Petrov Memorial” which will take place on February 15-17 at the Jurmala City Museum located in the heart of Jurmala, the town known for variety of festivals in the summer and very quiet in winter. The aim of the tournament is also to pay the tribute to the Latvian player mostly known for his success in Kemeri (now part of Jurmala) in 1937 who tragically died in Soviet Camps during the second World War. The program of the festival will feature two rapid ELO tournaments and a blitz tournament.

The first Vladimir Petrov Memorial was held in February 2012 and won by GM Alexander Morozevich who is expected to defend his title. More than 80 players from 12 countries participated in the main tournaments, including almost 30 GMs.The guaranteed prize fund for the second edition of Vladimir Petrov Memorial is 8800 LVL (a little more than 12500 EUR). First prize of the tournament A is guaranteed to be 1500 LVL (2130 EUR), special prizes for women, juniors, seniors and rating prizes. Tournament ASwiss System, 14 rounds rapid (15 min per game + 6 sec increment per move), February 15-17, open for all players. At the moment of writing 54 participants from 11 countries have been registered to the Tournament A, including more than 20 Grandmasters. Top 10 of the registered players is the following: 1 GM Ivanchuk Vassily UKR 2771 2 GM Morozevich Alexander RUS 2758 3 GM Mamedyarov Shakhriyar AZE 2748 4 GM Shirov Alexei LAT 2718 5 GM Zhigalko Sergei BLR 2674 6 GM Grachev Boris RUS 2672 7 GM Fridman Daniel GER 2670 8 GM Kurnosov Igor RUS 2660 9 GM Khairullin Ildar RUS 2639 10 GM Krasenkow Michal POL 2636 Full players list is at http://chess-results.com/tnr77638.aspx?lan=11 Tournament B Swiss System, 11 rounds rapid (12 minutes per game plus 4 seconds increment per move) February 15-16, open for players with ELO below 2201. More detailed information about schedule, accommodation and registration can be found on the homepage of the Latvian Chess Federation (http://www.sahafederacija.lv/?p=3553). From Alexandra Kosteniuk'swww.chessblog.comAlso see her personal blog atwww.chessqueen.comDon't miss Chess Queen™ YouTube Channel